How Early Influences Can Affect Later Outcomes

GIH Mental Health Audioconference Series

When:

Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 12:00 p.m., Eastern/ 11:00 a.m. Central/ 10:00 a.m. Mountain/ 9:00 a.m. Pacific

Who:

• Mrs. Roxane Kaufmann, Director, Early Childhood Policy, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
• Dr. Walter Gilliam, Director, The Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy, Yale Child Study Center
• Dr. Meghan Guinnee, Catalyst Research

What:

The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a child’s development. Brain development and experiences during this period may set the course for many future behavior patterns. Outcomes can be observed through children’s behavior as they attempt to communicate their feelings of wellness, abilities, and/or difficulties that they are having in their home, childcare, preschool, or other settings.

Most occasional challenging behavior displayed by young children goes away without turning into more serious behavioral concerns. For some children, however, the behavior is more intense, occurs more frequently, and interferes with their ability to learn and form positive relationships with peers and significant adults. Persistent mental and behav¬ioral problems, especially those beginning in early childhood, can lead to a lifelong downward trajectory of antisocial behaviors. These difficulties can affect an individual’s social development, educational attainment, employment opportunities, and risk of engaging in criminal activities.

On this call, funders learned more about key issues related to mental health in early childhood. We also discussed innovative approaches geared toward fostering healthy social, emotional, and psychological development in young children to prevent preschool expulsions, to help them succeed in school, and to improve the systems of care available to serve them and their families.

Resources:

• Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York
• The Right Start Quality Improvement Collaborative
• The Early Childhood Connections Pilot Program

Related Content

• ECCP Policy Brief 2007 – PDF document, 168 KB
• Pre K Expulsion Brief 2008 – PDF document, 2260 KB
• Pre K Expulsion Brief 2005 – PDF document, 219 KB
• Roxane Kauffman Presentation – PDF document, 1079 KB